Is this the end of Tupperware?

April 14, 2023 by
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In the US, the term Tupperware is shorthand for any plastic reusable storage container, whether made by Tupperware or not. Most women (and probably many men) over the age of 40 have been to a Tupperware party, and few are the households of that demographic that don’t have at least one Tupperware-branded item. However, the iconic company is teetering on the edge of collapse, according to a statement released earlier this week.

The statement said “The Company has concluded there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.” The brand is facing a lawsuit from investors who allege Tupperware misled them by failing to disclose “serious issues with internal controls.” This, coupled with years of declining sales, could mean this iconic kitchenware manufacturer could be out of business soon.

In its heyday, Tupperware had the market cornered on kitchen storage solutions. Its direct sales model allowed its consultants – mainly stay-at-home moms and housewives – to earn income in an era where there were few work from home options. I grew up in a Tupperware-loving household: we had canisters, bowls, bread keepers, tumblers, pitchers, and more, all in the fashion colors of the day. I ate many bowls of cereal (the mainstay GenX breakfast) from shallow Tupperware bowls, and enjoyed Jell-O pudding from “fancy” footed containers with a convenient lid so extra servings could be popped in the refrigerator.

Today, however, there remains only one Tupperware-branded product in my house, a tiny square container that I pop into the freezer to store excess fruit zest or a homemade spice blend. I have mostly switched to glass storage containers with a few holdover plastic products, mostly reused food packaging. I haven’t even been invited to a Tupperware party for well over a decade, much less hosted one. The decline of the direct sales model is a problem the company addressed in recent years by selling products in retail outlets like Target. That move may have been too little, too late.

Nostalgia prompts me to lament the passing of the product line that played such a large role in my childhood, but I will not mourn for long as this seems like a logical conclusion to the plastic era. I’ve already spotted vintage Tupperware in flea markets with eyebrow-raising price tags. This is likely to be the destiny for this once high-flying brand: people buying products that remind them of their childhood, to be displayed among other relics from a bygone age.

Category: Antipasto

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11 Comments

  • bittrette  on  April 14, 2023

    Count me among the retirement-age women who have never been to a Tupperware party. Are we really that rare?
    Anyway, I’m glad that, for now, you can order Tupperware online – it is a quality product, especially now that it’s BPA-free.

  • breakthroughc  on  April 14, 2023

    I’m in my late fifties and still have Tupperware products that I bought in a round of parties in my twenties. I even still use a piece of luggage that I got from hosting my own Tupperware party. I have a colander and measuring cups I have used multiple times a week for decades. I love that you can tell the era the Tupperware was purchased from the color palate. Teal was a dominant color in my era. I’m sorry to see the company go. On the other hand I never understood how Pampered Chef stayed in business. Over priced, gadget riddled and poor quality. I only went to one party and was so appalled by the overly processed, terrible food the consultant made that I refused to go to another one.

  • Rella  on  April 14, 2023

    Bittrette, I am an elderly woman who never went to a Tupperware party, but a few years ago, while cleaning out loads of ‘unnecessary kitchen stuff’ I did discard two purchased pieces that I still had. My husband re-purposed them (for now) by filling them with small wrenches, etc. in his work-shack.

  • dbuhler  on  April 14, 2023

    I’m in my early forties and before I got married (22 years ago) my family and friends hosted a bridal shower (do people still have those?) for me and it was a Tupperware shower. I started my marriage with a well stocked kitchen and I still have most of those pieces today. I don’t care much for the small bowls and cups for eating a drinking, but I have small kids so they do get a lot of use for now. What I love the most are the large bowls with lids that I use to store some of my whole grain flours in the freezer, my cake/cupcake carrier, and my pantry staples containers that hold my flour and sugars. BUT, my absolutely favorite Tupperware piece that I own was a piece that my mother gave me, or I took from her…who can really remember…that she received as a wedding gift that I use to store large batches of baked cookies, muffins, brownies, etc. Mine recently stopped being airtight (its over 40 years old so it had a good run) and so when I did some research to replace it I found out it is supposed to be used to marinate meat! HA! Based on this article it looks like I may to need to replace it sooner than later. Perhaps I will buy three…

  • KarenGlad  on  April 15, 2023

    That’s disappointing news. I’m from that era (set up house back in the 70’s) and I have a true Tupperware drawer. I’ve tried other brands including glass and haven’t found one that stands the test of time and everyday use like Tupperware. And I made sure I set my kid’s kitchens up with the basics too.

  • lizr  on  April 16, 2023

    Amazing quality. I always tried to avoid going to Tupperware parties but I must have been to a few as I have about 4 pieces of Tupperware that are still going strong after 50 years!

  • demomcook  on  April 16, 2023

    My cousin was a “Tupperware Lady”, so when I married 41 years ago, she sent most of the line to me, dividing it between my bridal shower and wedding gifts. I even had Tupperware picnic coolers. Like others, I’ve switched to glass in recent years, but we do still have many of the larger pieces. Good to hear they are bpa free – that needs better publicity!

  • Plutarch  on  April 21, 2023

    I recall being despatched to the pub when there was a Tupperware party in the offing and I remember the iconic image the products had at that time. They were good. Tupperware parties came second only to Ann Summers parties. I wasn’t invited to any of those either, sadly.

  • FuzzyChef  on  April 27, 2023

    The other mistake they made is “modernizing” the designs; we have a bunch of 70s Tupperware, especially the measuring cups, that we guard, but we wouldn’t touch anything sold since 2000.

  • M_Clarke  on  April 27, 2023

    Honestly, given their direct marketing (multilevel marketing/MLM) I am not too sad to see them go. I do carry some fondness out of nostalgia from using it at my grandma’s house growing up, but the current paradigm of direct selling/MLMs is predatory, often loses “consultants” money, and can even lead to strained or broken relationships due to constant advertising and trying to entice people to attend parties and buy wares.

    While the products do seem to be made well and well loved by a large chunk of people, I cannot with good conscience support their selling and distribution model.

  • slimmer  on  April 28, 2023

    I too grew up in a Tupperware household. Mom and Grandma had some, and, later on, my aunt sold it. The initial outlay is expensive, but they have a lifetime guarantee that I have taken advantage of. In fact I have a box of cracked, chipped, and warped pieces to replace, if only I could find a seller. I bought my first pieces in the late ’70s and am still using my measuring cups & spoons, colanders, and pantry canisters, as well as my celery & lettuce crispers.

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